Innovate UK is to invest up to £16 million to grow the UK commercial capacity to manufacture viral vectors

Registration is closed

Funding details

Registration opens

23 Oct 2017, 00:00

Registration closes

08 Nov 2017, 00:00

Closes

15 Nov 2017, 00:00

Award

Projects should range in size from total costs of £2 million to £6 million. Up to 100% funding available.

Organisation

ISCF via Innovate UK

Summary

NEW: Innovate UK is to invest up to £16 million to grow the UK commercial capacity to manufacture viral vectors. This is to address the current and predicted shortfall in viral vector production, to increase UK competitiveness and productivity, and better position the UK to manufacture viral vectors. These should be used in the development of clinical cell and gene therapies for the treatment of human disease and disorders.

This competition is not a collaborative R&D funded competition; it is for capital investment. The business must lead and can carry out the project on their own or in collaboration with others (businesses, RTOs, Catapults, charities or academia). To lead an application you must be a UK based business of any size, carry out your project in the UK and have a GMP manufacturing facility for viral vectors for advanced therapy medicinal products.

The grant must be claimed before April 2018 and projects should range in size from total costs of £2 million to £6 million. The maximum funding for eligible project costs is up to 50% if you are a business (of any size), or up to 100% if you are a non-profit distributing research organisation.

Innovate UK will support organisations that can set out a clear vision of how they will encourage partnerships with companies, universities and other research establishments. Projects also need to demonstrate that the capital investment grant they’re requesting will advance the UK’s ability to produce viral vectors for use as an ATMP or in the development of cell-based ATMPs and encourage partnerships between public and private organisations, and maximise further investment.

The investment will be funded under the government’s Industrial Strategy Challenge Fund (ISCF), in particular the Medicines Manufacturing Challenge. This challenge is seeking to develop technologies for the manufacture of medicines that will speed up patient access to new drugs and treatments, building on the exporting strengths of the UIK biopharmaceutical sector.

Interim Challenge Director Medicines Manufacturing Dr Mike Sullivan and Alice Jackson carefully explains the competition scope and takes you through the application process in a very useful short webinar. We strongly recommend you watch this.